Kyle McCarthy and Nashua North being their title defense on Thursday.
The high school baseball teams from Nashua North and Campbell are in good position to defend their respective titles, as the playoffs get started on Thursday.
North is the No. 2 seed in Division I, while last year’s runner-up, Concord, is the top seed. Campbell enters the Division III tournament as the No. 3 seed. In Division II, St. Thomas and Portsmouth are the top two seeds, with their only loses this season coming against each other.
Division I
North (14-4) opens the tournament against No. 15 Dover (6-12) at 7 p.m. Thursday at Holman Stadium. The Titans defeated the Green Wave 1-0 during the regular season.
The winner will face either No. 7 Bishop Guertin (10-8) or No. 1o Winnacunnet (9-9), who will also play Thursday at Holman, starting at 4 p.m. The Cardinals defeated the Warriors 11-1 in the regular-season meeting.
No. 3 Merrimack (13-5), which has won 10 in a row, will host No. 14 Alvirne (7-12) at 4 p.m. on Thursday. The Tomahawks defeated the Broncos during the regular season, 1-0, one of Merrimack’s 10 shutouts this season.
The winner of that game will take on either No. 6 Exeter (11-7) or No. 11 Spaulding (9-9), who play Thursday at 4 p.m.
On the other side of the bracket, No. 16 Nashua South (6-12) heads North to face No. 1 Concord (14-4) at 4 p.m. Thursday. The Panthers lost to the Crimson Tide 8-5 during the regular season.
The winner gets to face the winner of No. 9 Trinity (9-9) and No. 8 Londonderry (11-8), who will play Thursday at 4 p.m.
No. 4 Manchester Memorial (13-5) will host No. 13 Salem (10-10) at 8 p.m. at Gill Stadium on Thursday. The winner moves on to play either No. 5 Timberlane (13-5) or No. 12 Pinkerton (9-9), who will play Thursday at 4 p.m.
The quarterfinals will be held at 4 p.m. on June 2 at the home of the higher seed. The semifinals will take place on June 7, starting at 4 p.m., at Holman Stadium, while the final will be held on June 16 at 4 p.m. at Northeast Delta Dental Stadium.
Division II
St. Thomas (15-1) is the top seed, winning a three-way tiebreaker with Portsmouth and Lebanon. The Saints, last year’s runner-up, will host No. 16 Sanborn (7-9) in a preliminary round game at 4 p.m. Thursday.
The winner will face either No. 9 Pembroke (9-7) or No. 8 Con-Val (9-7), who will play at 4 p.m. Thursday.
No. 13 Souhegan (8-8) will take on No. 4 Goffstown (14-3) at 4 p.m. Thursday at Saint Anselm’s College. The Grizzlies defeated the Sabers 3-1 during the regular season.
The winner will take on the winner of No. 5 Bedford (12-4) and No. 12 Hanover (8-8), who will play Thursday at 4 p.m. The two teams didn’t meet during the regular season.
On the other side of the bracket, No. 2 Portsmouth (15-1) takes on No. 15 Laconia (7-9) at 4 p.m. on Thursday. The winner will move on to face either No. 7 Kennett (11-6) and No. 10 Merrimack Valley (8-8), who also play at 4 p.m. Thursday.
No. 6 Hollis Brookline (11-5) will host No. 11 Kingswood (8-8) at 4 p.m. Thursday. The teams didn’t play during the regular season.
The winner of that game will face either No. 3 Lebanon (15-1) or No. 14 Coe-Brown (7-9), who also play at 4 p.m. Thursday.
The quarterfinals will be held at 4 p.m. on June 2 at the home of the higher seed. The semifinals will be held on June 7, starting at 4 p.m., at Memorial Field in Concord, and the final is scheduled for 7 p.m. on June 16 at Northeast Delta Dental Stadium.
Division III
The division’s play-in games were held on Sunday, with Mascenic, White Mountains, Newport and Stevens moving on to the preliminary round.
No. 3 Campbell (13-4) will host No. 19 Stevens (4-13-1) at 4 p.m. on Thursday. The teams didn’t play each other during the regular season.
The winner of that game will face either No. 6 Fall Mountain (11-5) or No. 11 Somersworth (10-6), who while also play at 4 p.m. on Thursday.
No. 2 Monadnock (13-3) hosts No. 15 Newport (7-11) and the winner gets either No. 7 Prospect Mountain (11-5) or No. 10 Berlin (10-6) in the quarterfinals. Both preliminary round games will be at 4 p.m. Thursday.
On the other side of the bracket, No. 1 Hopkinton (16-1) hosts No. 17 Mascenic (6-12) at 4 p.m. on Thursday. The winner will face the winner of No. 8 Franklin (11-6) and No. 9 Inter-Lakes (10-6), who also play at 4 p.m. on Thursday.
No. 4 Conant (12-4) will take on No. 20 White Mountains (4-13) on Thursday at 4 p.m., with the winner moving on to face either No. 5 Newfound (12-4) or No. 12 Bow (7-9). Those two will also play Thursday at 4 p.m.
All quarterfinal games are scheduled for 4 p.m. on June 2 at the home of the higher seed. The semifinals will be held June 6, starting at 4 p.m., at Southern New Hampshire University. The final is scheduled for 10 a.m. on June 16 at Northeast Delta Dental Stadium.
Division IV
Wilton-Lynderborough (12-4) enters the tournament as the sixth seed and will host No. 11 Moultonborough (8-8) at 4 p.m. on Thursday. The teams split two games during the regular season, with WLC winning 8-1 on May 2 and Moultonborough winning 5-3 on May 23.
The winner of that game will face either No. 3 Sunapee (13-3) or No.14 Profile (4-12), who also play at 4 p.m. on Thursday.
No. 2 Colebrook (15-1) hosts No. 15 Woodsville (4-12) at 4 p.m. on Thursday, and the winner will take on either No. 7 Pittsfield (10-6) or No. 10 Littleton (8-8). Those two teams also play at 4 p.m. on Thursday.
No. 1 Portsmouth Christian (14-0) takes its unbeaten record against No. 16 Derryfield (3-13) at 4 p.m. Thursday, while No. 8 Groveton (9-7) hosts No. 9 Lisbon (9-7), also at 4 p.m. Thursday. The winners of those games will meet in the quarterfinals.
No. 4 Gorham (14-4) plays host to No. 13 Epping (4-12) at 4 p.m. on Thursday. The winner of that game will face the winner of No. 5 Newmarket (12-4) and No. 12 Pittsburg (6-10), who also play at 4 p.m. on Thursday.
All quarterfinal games are scheduled for 4 p.m. on June 2 at the home of the higher seed. The semifinal on the bottom of the bracket will be played June 6 at 4 p.m. at Plymouth State University, while the other semifinal game will be June 7, also at 4 at PSU. The final is scheduled for 1 p.m. on June 16 at Northeast Delta Dental Stadium.